


I hate the phrase "love conquers all" and I hate that it's true

by emjee (MerryHeart)



Category: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (TV)
Genre: "you're the love of my life", F/M, Kissing, Post-Finale, and this was my OG ship, and what a gorgeous one it was, love me an open ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-13
Updated: 2019-04-13
Packaged: 2020-01-12 11:14:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18445412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MerryHeart/pseuds/emjee
Summary: "She’s been uncovering her own light, little by little, and especially over the last year. He can’t tell her anything she doesn’t already know—that she is messy and worthy and meaningful. She’s still the love of his life."Greg and Rebecca ease back into each other's lives, talk about how much they mean to each other, and then there's kissing because of course there's kissing.





	I hate the phrase "love conquers all" and I hate that it's true

**Author's Note:**

> Oh, my dear friends. How this beautiful show has reminded me that I am fandom trash, and unto fandom trash I shall always return.

“This is a song I wrote.”

Open-mike performances used to be on the long list of things Greg hated, right up there with men in skinny jeans and bands with a guy on mandolin. (Frankly, there was a lot of crossover there.)

Maybe he does still hate open-mikes, but he doesn’t hate this one. He hates everything but her.

Actually, he doesn’t even hate _everything_ anymore. Many things, sure—he’s not a _completely different person_ —but getting sober has made him less angry, and less anger running in the background of his brain like a cable news channel on low volume has made him slightly less inclined to roll his eyes at everything. Or, at least, he’s better at seeing why some people like this shit.

Rebecca’s songs have promise, he’ll give her that. And she’s been working her ass off, he’ll give her that too.

But she doesn’t need him to give her anything now. She’s been uncovering her own light, little by little, and especially over the last year. He can’t tell her anything she doesn’t already know—that she is messy and worthy and meaningful. She’s still the love of his life.

God, it’s like he’s falling for her all over again, watching her up on that stage. It’s like she’s become the best version of herself.

White Josh elbows him in the ribs. “Dude. Stop it.”

“What?”

“The thing you’re doing with your face, like you have literal hearts coming out of your eyes. It’s disgusting. Somebody please explain to me what is so appealing about this woman.”

“I could do my best and I still don’t think you’d understand.”

“I mean, probably. Straight people.”

Greg watches Paula, Valencia, and Heather descend on Rebecca after she finishes her set. Nothing about that friend group makes sense, he thinks, but there it is. Nothing about any of this makes sense. Josh met a girl at a magic club, for heaven’s sake. Josh. _A magic club_. Nathaniel in Guatemala and Paula at a ritzy law firm and Heather as a ferociously competent adult. He would have lost so much money betting on any of those outcomes. Except maybe Paula. She’s always kinda scared him.

Looking at Rebecca’s face makes him feel warm and pleased and proud, even though they’ve been nothing more than friendly acquaintances for the last year, and he had nothing to do with all the work she’s put into what she shared tonight.

Of course he feels all those disgusting fuzzy feelings he’s just learned to live with. He loves her. It’s not that he forgets, it’s that sometimes that love moves into the background, where so much of that anger used to be, and then he’ll remember something she said, or they’ll run into each other on East Cameron and smile, or he’ll watch her pour her heart out for a room full of her dearest friends (he’s in the room, he realizes, he’s dear), and it will all bubble up again, after all this time, and the fights and the heartbreak and the honest-to-God shitshows they have put each other through.

He would have lost money betting on that outcome too.

Rebecca extracts herself from her girl squad, or whatever they call themselves, and scans the room. Does her face light up when she sees him, or is he making that up?

She makes her way toward him. “Later,” WhiJo tells him, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “I would say make good choices, but I honestly don’t expect you to where she’s concerned.”

“Hi,” she says, once she comes to a complete stop. She’s not standing unusually close, but he hasn’t been this near to her since he can’t remember when. “Thanks for coming. I know you hate stuff like this.”

“I don’t know,” he replies. “Not this time.”

*

Nathaniel flies back to Guatemala. Valencia starts in on wedding plans with an intensity that is frankly terrifying. Hebby keeps growing (apparently toddlers do that). Greg and Rebecca ease back into each other’s lives.

She comes by the restaurant one day and asks if he’d be willing to look over the Rebetzel’s books with her. She’s not losing money on it anymore, but it’s not really making money either. He tells her to bring them by and they can eat while he goes over them. If she wants.

She tears into chicken piccata while they talk it all over.

He didn’t mean to wait for her. He _didn’t_ wait for her. But here they are, sitting in his food establishment, talking about hers, and he’s not mad about it.

*

They go to the movies and get tacos and sit around shooting the shit and call each other when they’ve had shitty days.

Once upon a time he tried to keep things “cool” and “chill” and “casual” with Rebecca—which, come on, Mistake Number One, if he’s being honest, nothing about that woman has ever been “chill”—but they’ve known each other long enough now that nothing’s a big production anymore. She’s just Rebecca, and he’s just Greg, and it’s thrilling.

He invites her to go to Valencia’s wedding with him.

“I know we’re both invited,” he says between mouthfuls of Chinese takeout. “But…I was really shitty to you at a wedding once. I’d like a chance to take you to one and do it right this time. But it’s not—it doesn’t have to be—you tell me what it means, and whatever you want, that’s great.”

Rebecca tilts her head to one side, starts to say something. That furrowed line between her eyebrows makes an appearance. For a second he thinks she’s zoned out, he’s seen her do it before, but now he gets the sense that she’s thinking, actually weighing her options.

Options.

It’s occurred to Greg that maybe this something that’s happening between them for the umpteenth time owes its existence to process of elimination. Josh is taken, Nathaniel’s not even in the same country. But then he remembers that Josh was taken when Rebecca moved to West Covina, and also that this is the woman who moved to West Fucking Covina on a whim for a man. If she wanted Nathaniel that badly, she’d be on a plane to Guatemala.

“What would you say,” she starts, “if I told you I wanted to kiss you right now?”

He takes a deep, slow breath. “I’d say…I would be careful with your heart, and I need you to be careful with mine. And I’d say that I want you to kiss me. I want to kiss you.”

She puts her takeout on the coffee table and moves next to him on the couch, placing a finger under his chin and turning his face toward her.

“Greg…”

_Look how much we’ve grown._

_Look how far we’ve come._

_I finally know who I am._

_I am terrified of hurting you because it seems like that’s all I can do._

_I don’t have to explain it all to you._

He nods as she frames his face with her hands. “I know.”

She kisses him, and then it’s them kissing each other, and maybe all they can promise each other is tomorrow, but tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow can add up to a lifetime, and he would be fine with that, more than fine, he’d be ecstatic, if only he can wake up tomorrow and still get to talk to her and tease her and kiss her, long and slow and certain, just like this.

She pulls back just far enough to speak; he can still feel her lips brushing against his. “I’d love to go to the wedding with you. As your date.” She snuggles up against him. “It’s funny, you know, because I don’t feel like there’s a word for…what we are now? You are one of the most important people in my life. I love you. Oh my God, Greg, I love you so much, and now it’s, it’s like the more love I give, the more I have? Does that make sense?”

“Absolutely.”

“It doesn’t feel like glitter exploding inside me. It’s like…waking up snug in bed and knowing that you’re safe.”

He presses a kiss to the top of her head.

“Listen…” she continues, “it’s easy for me to jump into these things too quickly, you know that, it’s one of my patterns, and I think maybe I’ve improved but I also don’t know because I haven’t tried to do this in a while, you know, so maybe if this time we have, like, a nice makeout sesh and then don’t follow it up with a three day sex cocoon or fornicating on the floor like teenagers—”

“Hey, beds are overrated.”

“Agreed, I mean, come on, get at least a little creative, but you know what I’m saying?”

“I do, and that’s more than fine with me. I’m so proud of you, Bunch. For so many things that have nothing to do with me.”

“I’m proud of you too.” Rebecca shifts so she can look him in the eye. “Ew, look at us and our mutual admiration society.”

“I think that’s what happens when you love someone.”

“Yeah, that does make sense.”

“Now,” he says, sliding his fingers through her hair, “I seem to remember that you had _notes_  you wanted to give me on my kissing technique, so do you want to give those up front or do you think vigorous practice will work everything out organically?”

“Vigorous practice,” she says, grabbing his shirt and hauling him down to her. “We’ve got plenty of time.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> I adored the finale ending because I actually have soft spots for both Greg and Nathaniel, but Rebecca x Greg was my OG ship on a show that is emphatically not about shipping, and it's the ship I will go down with, or least write fic for.
> 
> Thank you for reading! Smash that kudos button or smash your keyboard in the comments section if you liked it. I'm open to requests, so leave those in the comments as well if you feel so moved!


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